Government, business and private corruption attract my attention. Movies, games, music and books are some of my main interests. Political commentary, technology news and philosophy are just for fun. This is where I plan on just putting random thoughts.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Here's looking at you, citizen

It is eerie just how much the United States is becoming just like the "utopic" world of the book, 1984. I know I am not original in this thought, but I cannot stand to see this country lose its freedom and not seem to care.

We are in a post-9/11 world, and our sensibility has changed. We have to watch out for the invisible bad guys who are out to get us. We also live in an internet-driven world, where watching the actions of individual "surfers" is both trivial and profitable. This current world also has a global economy and United States citizens are encouraged to accept open boarders, jobs going to other countries, immigrant workers (legal and illegal) taking jobs here. This current world is filled with media messages about how families are destructive and full of hurt, that fathers are abusive monsters or bumbling idiots, and teenagers should have all the freedom in the world. Racial tensions have not improved much, despite legislating against hateful speech and thoughts. Drug usage (both legal and illegal) is way up, and our general health is not improving.

We are a nation feeding on ourselves, eating our innards in a desperate attempt to satiate hunger. And what is that hunger? Most couldn't even identify it if asked. We are insecure. We desire security, but everything we do creates greater insecurity.

There are those who are willing to capitalize on our insecurity. I would say that the American citizen is so beaten down, so knocked about, Americans barely know which way is up. Of course, there are many in the world who would happily say, "Poor Americans, with their cars and houses and computers and TV's and food!" And it is true that we have a lot, in material goods. But Americans are becoming prisoners to the corporate greed and governmental control. Not only are our jobs barely paying enough to allow the average American to survive, but our very thoughts are being shaped by the onslaught of advertisements, entertainment and advertisements disguised as entertainment.

We are becoming slaves in most every aspect. Monumental debt alone is a large enough millstone to crush the spirit of the average American. And we just sit and watch, helpless, as our freedoms and liberties die, one by one. Privacy, never protected by the constitution, was an afterthought, assumed to be a part of that life, liberty and happiness clause. Well, we are no longer innocent until proven guilty, because the entire nation will be watched. The current law being considered to monitor all citizens on the internet, via their ISPs, is the latest in a long line of abuses we have had to put up with. They say it is to catch child pornographers, but who cares what the justification is? This is another step down that path. The path to which I refer will only end if someone in government gains some sense, or someone among the average citizenry sparks a revolution. Feel free to read more about this at http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/?p=125&tag=nl.e539 or do a Google search.

Are we truly so far gone, that we are willing to put up with this? Is there no one out there willing to speak out. Someone must say, "Stop the madness!"